Black Garlic

The garlic I started on July 10 is getting ready. The bulbs that were at or near the bottom of the pot are ready but the ones at the top of the pot need more time. It took a little over three weeks for the bulbs on the bottom and will probably take another week for the remaining bulbs. I could probably have rotated the bulbs but didn’t.

First off, black garlic is NOT fermented. It turns black as part of a process called the Maillard reaction.

This is like eating candy! It doesn’t taste like garlic at all – it actually tastes like candy. I think even Addie would love it. One article I read said it tastes like figs. I’m not sure but I might like it better than I like figs!

I may have the same health benefits as white garlic but without the odor and gastric issues caused by white garlic. I’m not saying it does have health benefits but if you care to do a little research, google “health benefits of black garlic”. There’s a lot of info out there.

When we first began talking about black garlic, a reader, Judy, told me about a special pot for “fermenting” garlic. I looked at it and decided since it can be done in a slow cooker, or a rice cooker, or the proofer, I’d just keep using what I have but this morning, as we were eating our black garlic, Vince said “Maybe we should get one of those pots and at least see how it works.”

All of these pots come from China . . no big surprise. But, they all have different brand names and yet, they all look exactly the same . . probably no big surprise again. The lowest cost is about $90 and the highest is $129 but even reading the descriptions, they all sound exactly the same. That led me to google “lowest cost garlic fermenting pot” and Walmart came up.

Looks pretty much the same, right? But, the one at Walmart is 6L where the others are 5L, if you believe the description because the 5L supposedly holds 2 pounds of garlic and the 6L holds 2.2 pounds. Not much difference!

I’m guessing they’re exactly the same but what’s funny is the descriptions. The translation from Chinese to English is rather entertaining and from reading the reviews, the instructions are a bit interesting too.

One place I read said the power required was 220, which is doubtful. Another said 110.

This is also interesting:

Color is 110V??

One thing it said is that after the garlic is done, there’s no “sewage” left in the bottom. I would nope not! 🙂 Vince said it probably should read “waste” but . . the translation!

Walmart has a blurb that basically says “We strive for accuracy but the info is provided by the manufacturers, sellers and providers and we have not verified it.” I understand .. not knocking Walmart.

Anyway, I ordered mine from Walmart. I know if it isn’t what I expected, I can return it. If we can make 2 pounds of black garlic every two weeks or so, we should be happy.

Again, don’t forget – even though the pot is for “fermenting” garlic, black garlic is not fermented but it sure is tasty!